Car Insurance Claim Services: Easy to claim, but some still unhappy

Making a claim has only gotten easier over the years, from making a phone call to logging a claim online to tapping the screen on your smartphone. Our survey shows the easier it gets, the happier people are.

In 2016, CANSTAR commissioned Colmar Brunton to find out whether Aussie drivers were happy with their car insurance. We surveyed 2,029 people who hold a car insurance policy in their name and made a claim in the past 3 years.

In general, the results were positive, and show that we’re pretty happy with our insurance providers.

70% of survey respondents said they were satisfied or highly satisfied overall with their last car insurance claim.

Easy to make a claim

A large 72% majority of customers were satisfied or highly satisfied with how easy it was to make their last car insurance claim.

Young drivers were less satisfied, with ages 18-29 having the highest levels of dissatisfaction (11%). These digital natives are used to making insurance claims via a smartphone app, but not all providers offer this feature – although we’re not saying that’s the only reason they might be dissatisfied.

Satisfaction with the ease of the process rose among older drivers, with dissatisfaction dropping to just 4% once people hit 50 years old and up.

When it came to how long the process took, 67% were satisfied or highly satisfied with how quickly their insurance provider responded to their claim.

Time-poor folk aged 40-49 years old were the most unhappy with how long the process took. 19% of those aged 40-49 were dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied with how long it took to get a response to their claim, much higher than the other age groups.

Communication

Most customers were fairly happy with how their insurance provider kept them informed about the progress of their claim and the repairs, with 65% saying they were satisfied with the level of communication.

In an unexpected turn of events, male survey respondents reported that they wanted more communication than the females! Just 59% of men were satisfied with the communication they received, while 71% of women were satisfied. What’s more, nearly 1 in 10 men (9%) were dissatisfied with the level of communication they received, compared to 7% for women.

Repairs

A 67% majority were satisfied or highly satisfied with the quality of repairs made to their car. Those aged 60 and over were the happiest with the quality of repairs done, with 83% being satisfied or highly satisfied.

However, the time taken to make the repairs was apparently too long for more than 1 in 10 drivers. 11% were dissatisfied or highly dissatisfied with how long it took to get their car back on the road. Again, the need for speed (in the claims and repair process) was highest in those aged 40-49 (13%) and those aged 18-29 (12%), compared to those aged 60 and over, who reported less than half as much dissatisfaction (5%).

Different strokes for different folks

We were interested to see that drivers will trust different insurance providers with their vehicle depending on their living situation. This makes sense, as different providers charge different premiums and offer different levels of coverage and features depending on a driver’s age and number of dependents, among other factors.

Of the drivers we surveyed, here’s what drivers like you from around the country listed as their insurance provider of choice:

Singles with no kids: RACQ or RACV.

Couple with no kids: NRMA

Sharehouse (“group household”) with no kids: RACQ

Mix of adults and kids over 18 living at home: RACQ

Young families with preschool kids: AAMI and Allianz (tied).

Family with school kids: RACV or Other (provider not surveyed).

Older family with teenagers and older kids still at home: AAMI

Empty nesters: Other (provider not surveyed).

Naturally, we don’t recommend that you choose any particular insurer simply because other people did. You should always do your homework before signing up, and decide which combination of coverage and price will work best for your vehicle and your household budget.

Finding the right fit

Whether you’re a grey nomad towing a caravan along the Great Ocean Road, or a soccer mum driving a Tarago full of baby car seats, it’s important to find car insurance with the right mix of coverage, features, and price for your insurance needs and your budget. It can be overwhelming to even think about how many car insurance options are out there these days, but CANSTAR can help with that.

In 2016, we have researched and rated 63 car insurance policies from 53 insurers around Australia and reported on how much value they provide for different drivers. Take a look at our comparison tables to see which policies would provide 5-star rated outstanding value for your stage of life.

CANSTAR is an information provider and in giving you product information CANSTAR is not making any suggestion or recommendation about a particular product. If you decided to apply for car insurance you will deal directly with the insurance provider, and not with CANSTAR. Rates and product information should be confirmed with the relevant insurance provider before applying. For more information, read our detailed disclosure, important notes, and additional information.

This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you. Consider the product disclosure statement before making a purchase decision. Canstar provides an information service. It is not a credit provider, and in giving you information about credit products Canstar is not making any suggestion or recommendation to you about a particular credit product. Statistics referenced on this page have been verified by Canstar Research. Research provided by Canstar Research AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 437917.